The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas Movie – A Terrific Holiday Movie for Everyone

If  you’re looking for a short, delightful Christmas show that is perfect for the entire family, I recommend Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas. This 2014 production is based on both the 2003 hit movie, Elf, starring Will Ferrell and the Broadway musical production.

My husband and I recently watched this fun, short Christmas (43 minutes long) movie, and we both enjoyed it immensely. Although both of our children are now grown, we are sure they would have loved this movie when they were little. This of course means that this movie would have been played over and over (and over again!) in our home during the Christmas holidays.

The movie is done in an amalgamation of animation styles. All through the movie I was fascinated by the different details used in its production. I especially liked the different textures used, for example, Holly’s hair, the costumes, and the quirky facial expressions.

The story is a heart-warming Christmas tale about the importance of family. The music is catchy, fun, and up-beat. The movie uses the vocal talents of The Big Bang Theory‘s Jim Parsons (who is terrific!), Star Wars‘ Mark Hamill, and Ed Asner, among others.

I’ve told both of my (now grown) children they should definitely watch this fun, cute Christmas movie. It truly is lots of fun for everyone.

P.S. In the past we have discussed favorite Christmas movies, and compiled quite a few on these lists:

Christmas : Favorite Classic Holiday Movies: Old, Black & White… and a Few In Color (not mysteries)

Christmas : Favorite Holiday Movies – More Recent, In Color (not mysteries)

What are your favorite Christmas movies that you find yourself watching every year during the holiday season. Please post a comment below and let us know! Thank you!

***This movie is available on Netflix in disc format.**

I’m Ready for My Christmas Cozy Mystery Audios…

Washington, DCYou will never guess what I’m doing right now! By the time this entry posts, I should be on my way to Washington, DC. Yep! My husband and I are driving our daughter’s car out to DC for Thanksgiving. She left her car in our garage when she moved out there >>> thinking she wouldn’t want it. Now that she’s been living there for a few months, she has decided she’d rather not rely solely on the metro for everything.  And, since we enjoy visiting her, we’re on our way!

We felt a little bad about leaving our son in San Antonio to “hold down the fort” for us, but we see him so often we decided to take advantage of our daughter’s holiday off from work. Not that this makes up for leaving our son during the Thanksgiving holiday, but I stocked the freezer with some of his favorite things.  I have to admit I always feel a whole lot better with someone staying at the house when we travel.

I have downloaded the Cozy Mysteries that we will be listening to on our drive east. I decided that Tied Up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh and Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie are definite musts for a trip during the Thanksgiving holiday. Hopefully we’ll be able to finish them before we fly home.

I’ll continue to update the site while we are gone >>> I’m taking my laptop and my “tech guy” (husband) with me, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to check in almost every day.

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for December 2015

Wow! It’s the end of the year already! I know that December is a busy month for a lot of people, but let’s face it, we all need to relax every once in a while. With that in mind, here are the mystery movies I found which will be airing on TV during December. I have also listed some of the Christmas movies that will be on TV.

Oh, and before I forget: All of the Thin Man movies will be airing on December 31 on the Turner Classic Movies channel. And, they’re playing them in chronological order! What a way to end 2015!

***** ***** ***** *****

December 2015 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 2, 2015

4:30 PM
MADELEINE (1950)
A beautiful young woman stands trial for poisoning her lover.
Dir: David Lean Cast:  Ann Todd, Ivan Desny, Norman Woland.
BW-115 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – December 3, 2015

7:00 PM
LURED (1947)
A woman helps the police catch the serial killer who murdered her best friend.
Dir: Douglas Sirk Cast:  George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn.
BW-103 mins

9:00 PM
THE GAY FALCON (1942)
A society sleuth tries to break up an insurance scam.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast:  George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins.
BW-67 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday  – December 4, 2015

12:00 AM
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945)
A man remains young and handsome while his portrait shows the ravages of age and sin.
Dir: Albert Lewin Cast:  George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed.
BW-110 mins, CC

2:00 AM
MAN HUNT (1941)
An Englishman goes behind enemy lines to assassinate Hitler.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast:  Walter Pidgeon, Joan Bennett, George Sanders.
BW-102 mins, CC

3:45 AM
THE SAINT STRIKES BACK (1939)
The Saint helps a young beauty take vengeance on the mobsters who ruined her father.
Dir: John Farrow Cast:  George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Jerome Cowan.
BW-64 mins, CC

5:00 AM
DAY OF THE EVIL GUN (1968)
A gunman tries to control a vengeful farmer whose wife has been kidnapped.
Dir: Jerry Thorpe Cast:  Glenn Ford, Arthur Kennedy, Dean Jagger.
C-94 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

7:00 PM
IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast:  Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles.
BW-115 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 5, 2015

8:15 AM
DICK TRACY VS. CUEBALL (1946)
A police detective uses his girlfriend to track down a homicidal maniac.
Dir: Gordon M. Douglas Cast:  Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, Lyle Latell.
BW-62 mins

7:00 PM
SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
A failed screenwriter falls into a mercenary romance with a faded silent-film star.
Dir: Billy Wilder Cast:  William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim.
BW-110 mins, CC
*****This is a classic!*****

11:00 PM
IN A LONELY PLACE (1950)
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental boyfriend is a murderer.
Dir: Nicholas Ray Cast:  Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy.
BW-93 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 6, 2015

7:30 AM
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast:  Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart.
BW-69 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

9:00 AM
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley Cast:  Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley.
BW-113 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a terrific Christmas movie.*****

11:00 AM
HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman Cast:  Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey.
BW-87 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – December 7, 2015

10:45 PM
HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994)
When her mother tries to end her closest friendship, a high school girl plots her murder.
Dir: Peter Jackson Cast:  Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse.
C-99 mins
*****Based on Juliet Hulme’s (aka Anne Perry) early life.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – December 8, 2015

3:30 PM
THE CRIMSON KIMONO (1959)
Two detectives clash over the hunt for a stripper’s killer in Los Angeles’ Japanese district.
Dir: Samuel Fuller Cast:  Victoria Shaw, Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta.
BW-81 mins, Letterbox Format

11:15 PM
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason.
C-136 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 9, 2015

5:30 AM
THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (1946)
Years after a murder drove them apart, an heiress tries to win back her lost love.
Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott.
BW-115 mins, CC
*****Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin are terrific this movie.*****

7:30 AM
OUT OF THE PAST (1947)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast:  Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas.
BW-97 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – December 10, 2015

12:45 AM
THE DETECTIVE (1968)
The detective investigating a gay man’s murder discovers links to police corruption.
Dir: Gordon Douglas Cast:  Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Jacqueline Bisset.
C-114 mins

3:00 AM
THE FIRST DEADLY SIN (1980)
A police detective nearing retirement tries to catch a serial killer.
Dir: Brian G. Hutton Cast:  Frank Sinatra, Faye Dunaway, David Dukes.
C-112 mins, Letterbox Format

5:00 AM
SUDDENLY (1954)
Gunmen take over a suburban home to plot a presidential assassination.
Dir: Lewis Allen Cast:  Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason.
BW-77 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – December 11, 2015

7:00 PM
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley Cast:  Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley.
BW-113 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a wonderful Christmas movie.*****

9:00 PM
SCROOGE (1970)
A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Ronald Neame Cast:  Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans.
C-114 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

11:00 PM
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast:  Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart.
BW-69 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 12, 2015

8:15 AM
DICK TRACY’S DILEMMA (1947)
Dick Tracy takes on “The Claw” in this crime thriller
Dir: John Rawlins Cast:  Ralph Byrd, Lyle Latell, Kay Christopher.
BW-60 mins

5:15 PM
SUSPICION (1941)
A wealthy wallflower suspects her penniless playboy husband of murder.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
BW-100 mins, CC

7:00 PM
HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941)
A prizefighter who died before his time is reincarnated as a tycoon with a murderous wife.
Dir: Alexander Hall Cast:  Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains.
BW-94 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

7:30 AM
SCROOGE (1935)
The legendary miser searches his past, present and future to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
Dir: Henry Edwards Cast:  Seymour Hicks, Donald Calthrop, Maurice Evans.
BW-78 mins
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

11:00 AM
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can’t boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW-102 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is my favorite Christmas movie.*****

5:00 PM
CHARADE (1963)
A beautiful widow tries to find her husband’s lost fortune while eluding the killers who want it themselves.
Dir: Stanley Donen Cast:  Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau.
C-113 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

7:00 PM
LADY ON A TRAIN (1945)
A young woman enlists a mystery writer to help her solve a murder when the corpse vanishes.
Dir: Charles David Cast:  Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, David Bruce.
BW-94 mins

8:45 PM
ALIAS BOSTON BLACKIE (1942)
A reformed thief tracks down an escaped convict so he can prove the man is innocent.
Dir: Lew Landers Cast:  Chester Morris, Adele Mara, Richard Lane.
BW-67 mins

10:00 PM
LADY IN THE LAKE (1947)
Philip Marlowe searches for a missing woman in this mystery shot entirely from the detective’s viewpoint.
Dir: Robert Montgomery Cast:  Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan.
BW-103 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – December 14, 2015

3:30 AM
CAROL FOR ANOTHER CHRISTMAS (1964)
Three ghosts teach an industrialist the importance of international peacekeeping.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Cast:  Sterling Hayden, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara.
BW-86 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 16, 2015

1:30 AM
SECRET COMMAND (1944)
A surprise visit from his brother almost blows an undercover agent out of the water.
Dir: Eddie Sutherland Cast:  Pat O’Brien, Carole Landis, Chester Morris.
BW-82 mins

3:00 AM
HAVING WONDERFUL CRIME (1945)
Three amateur detectives try to find a missing magician.
Dir: Eddie Sutherland Cast:  Pat O’Brien, George Murphy, Carole Landis.
BW-70 mins

5:00 AM
A CRIMINAL IS BORN (1938)
This short film tells the story of how a young man starts a crime spree which leads to murder.
Dir: Leslie Fenton Cast:  Dave Durand, Norman Phillips Jr., Charles Sullivan.
BW-20 mins

5:30 AM
TWILIGHT OF HONOR (1963)
A struggling lawyer takes on a controversial murder case that could make or break him.
Dir: Boris Sagal Cast:  Richard Chamberlain, Joey Heatherton, Nick Adams.
BW-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

7:45 AM
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1935)
A young student murders for money then tries to escape his guilt and a brilliant detective.
Dir: Josef von Sternberg Cast:  Peter Lorre, Edward Arnold, Marian Marsh.
BW-88 mins, CC

9:30 AM
12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
A jury holdout tries to convince his colleagues to vote not guilty.
Dir: Sidney Lumet Cast:  Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley.
BW-96 mins, CC
*****This is another classic.*****

11:30 AM
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1958)
A British lawyer gets caught up in a couple’s tangled marital affairs when he defends the husband for murder.
Dir: Billy Wilder Cast:  Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton.
BW-116 mins, CC

4:00 PM
ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)
A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara.
BW-161 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday  – December 18, 2015

5:00 AM
THE NITWITS (1935)
Two cigar-stand attendants get mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: George Stevens Cast:  Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Fred Keating.
BW-82 mins

7:00 PM
I’LL BE SEEING YOU (1944)
A soldier meets a woman on Christmas furlough from prison and they fall in love.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast:  Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple.
BW-85 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

8:30 PM
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can’t boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW-102 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a terrific Christmas movie.*****

10:30 PM
REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940)
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
Dir: Mitchell Leisen Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi.
BW-94 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is another terrific Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 19, 2015

12:15 AM
HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman Cast:  Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey.
BW-87 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

8:15 AM
DICK TRACY MEETS GRUESOME (1947)
Dick Tracy tracks down a bank robber using nerve gas.
Dir: John Rawlins Cast:  Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, Anne Gwynne.
BW-65 mins

7:00 PM
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast:  Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
BW-99 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a lovely Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 20, 2015

1:00 AM
POSSESSION (1981)
In search of his missing wife, a man uncovers a deadly motive for her behavior.
Dir: Andrzej Zulawski Cast:  Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen.
C-127 mins

7:00 AM
SCROOGE (1970)
A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Ronald Neame Cast:  Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans.
C-114 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

9:00 AM
IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast:  Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles.
BW-115 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – December 22, 2015

8:45 AM
STAGE FRIGHT (1950)
An acting student goes undercover to prove a singing star killed her husband.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding.
BW-110 mins, CC

10:45 AM
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)
A man’s joking suggestion that he and a chance acquaintance trade murders turns deadly.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker.
BW-101 mins, CC

12:30 PM
DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
A straying husband frames his wife for the murder of the man he’d hired to kill her.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings.
C-105 mins, CC

2:30 PM
THE WRONG MAN (1956)
A musician is mistaken for a vicious thief, with devastating results.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle.
BW-105 mins, CC

4:30 PM
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason.
C-136 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – December 24, 2015

8:15 AM
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast:  Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart.
BW-69 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

1:15 PM
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can’t boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW-102 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a wonderful Christmas movie.*****

3:15 PM
HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman Cast:  Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey.
BW-87 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

7:00 PM
THE BISHOP’S WIFE (1947)
An angel helps set an ambitious bishop on the right track.
Dir: Henry Koster Cast:  Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven.
BW-109 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

9:00 PM
AUNTIE MAME (1958)
An eccentric heiress raises her nephew to be a free spirit.
Dir: Morton DaCosta Cast:  Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne.
C-143 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – December 25, 2015

1:45 AM
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast:  Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
BW-99 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a delightful Christmas movie.*****

7:45 AM
SCROOGE (1970)
A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Ronald Neame Cast:  Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans.
C-114 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

11:45 AM
I’LL BE SEEING YOU (1944)
A soldier meets a woman on Christmas furlough from prison and they fall in love.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast:  Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple.
BW-85 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

1:15 PM
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley Cast:  Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley.
BW-113 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a really good Christmas movie.*****

5:00 PM
IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast:  Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles.
BW-115 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This is a Christmas movie.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 26, 2015

5:00 AM
LARCENY, INC. (1942)
An ex-convict and his gang try to use a luggage store to front a bank robbery, but business keeps getting in the way.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford.
BW-95 mins, CC

7:00 AM
THE LETTER (1940)
A woman claims to have killed in self-defense, until a blackmailer turns up with incriminating evidence.
Dir: William Wyler Cast:  Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson.
BW-95 mins, CC

9:00 PM
TOP HAT (1935)
A woman thinks the man who loves her is her best friend’s husband.
Dir: Mark Sandrich Cast:  Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton.
BW-100 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery. This movie leaves me laughing.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 27, 2015

1:00 AM
GOD TOLD ME TO (1976)
A cop investigates a series of gruesome murders seemingly inspired by God.
Dir: Larry Cohen Cast:  Tony LoBianco, Sandy Dennis, Deborah Raffin.
C-91 mins

11:00 AM
WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
A blind woman fights against drug smugglers who’ve invaded her home.
Dir: Terence Young Cast:  Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna.
C-108 mins, CC

9:15 PM
AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD (1952)
A nightclub singer enlists her brother-in-law to track down her husband’s killer.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast:  Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Alexander Scourby.
BW-98 mins

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – December 29, 2015

9:15 PM
TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949)
A married woman’s discovery of stolen money changes her character for the worse.
Dir: Byron Haskin Cast:  Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea.
BW-101 mins

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 30, 2015

1:00 AM
KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (1952)
To commit the perfect crime, a former detective keeps his colleagues’ identities secret from each other.
Dir: Phil Karlson Cast:  John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster.
BW-99 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – December 31, 2015

7:00 PM
THE THIN MAN (1934)
A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan.
BW-91 mins, CC

8:45 PM
AFTER THE THIN MAN (1936)
Married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles try to clear Nora’s cousin of a murder charge.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart.
BW-112 mins, CC

10:45 PM
ANOTHER THIN MAN (1939)
Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey.
BW-103 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – January 1, 2016

12:45 AM
SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN (1941)
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.
Dir: Major W. S. Van Dyke II Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson.
BW-97 mins, CC

2:30 AM
THE THIN MAN GOES HOME (1945)
On a trip to visit his parents, detective Nick Charles gets mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: Richard Thorpe Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson.
BW-101 mins, CC

4:15 AM
SONG OF THE THIN MAN (1947)
Society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles investigate a murder in a jazz club.
Dir: Edward Buzzell Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn.
BW-87 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

(All of the above TCM descriptions were copied from the TCM site.)

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

 

Hallmark & Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Countdown to Christmas 2015

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

The rest of us would absolutely love hearing about any more mystery movies that will be airing during December 2015. So, if you know of any I haven’t listed, please post a comment.

Here is the November 2015 television mystery movies schedule:

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for November 2015

Here is the page on my site with lots and lots of entries of movies and television shows you may enjoy:

Cozy Mystery List TV and Movie Section

Can You Solve the Mystery Through the Author’s Clues?

DetectingRecently I’ve noticed that I am not solving a lot of the crimes in the Cozy Mystery books I read. For some reason, the person who committed the crime comes as a total surprise to me.

I sometimes find myself making a conscious decision to solve the mystery using all of the clues the sleuth has provided (through the author). However, I have to admit that a lot of the time the culprit is someone I absolutely had no idea would be the person responsible for the awful deed. Yikes! Am I losing my Cozy Mystery deducing skills, or am I just getting lazy?

This got me thinking >>> surely I’m not the only one who sometimes is totally surprised by the culprit. Other Cozy Mystery readers must have the same thing going-on. I should add that I’m not talking about the Cozies where not only do you know the culprit of the crime, but you also know the victim five or six chapters before the crime was committed. I’m sure lots (if not all!) of you have read a few of those books! (Yikes! We’re not all clairvoyants, yet there are some books that leave us feeling like we are!) Nor am I talking about the mysteries where a character is introduced at the very end of the book, since the author wants that character to be the “surprise” culprit.

I’m talking about the Cozy Mysteries where you go along with the sleuth, as she/he sleuths around the community. You actually pay attention to all of the information the sleuth becomes aware of, and you try to figure out, along with the sleuth, who was responsible for the crime. It bothers me that I’m just not very good at this, and I wonder if everyone else is!

Is this a skill you lose if you read too many Cozy Mysteries? Are the Cozy Mystery authors not providing enough clues to make the mystery solvable? Or, is it just me?

So I’m asking:

Are you actually able to solve the mystery through all of the author’s clues?

Please leave a comment if you are able to solve most of the mysteries you read before the author does the big reveal. Also, leave a comment if you are like me, and find this skill something which you don’t have! Thanks!

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